Big ag meets big data

BIG AG MEETS BIG DATA: The days of farming being considered an old-fashioned activity could soon be coming to an end. At a time when “a mid-level tractor has more technology than the Apollo spacecraft,” investors are pumping millions into new technologies that use that data to increase yields, said Sam Fiorello, chief operating officer at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, an agriculture technology research facility and incubator in St. Louis. “We talk about Uber and Google doing driverless cars, well, agriculture has already done that,” he said.

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And the biotech companies are getting in on the action as they seek to help farmers get the maximum potential from their more traditional products. Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer, among others, in recent years have launched precision agriculture services to help farmers figure out just what inputs their crops need and when. And as an added plus, these products lack the regulatory hurdles that come with traditional pesticides and GMO crops.

“The seed you are buying in the bag has the best yield potential until you put it in the ground,” said Ty Vaughn, global regulatory affairs director for Monsanto. “That’s what all of those platforms are meant to do, from data, to biotech to biologicals, … it’s all meant to protect the potential of that seed.” The full story for Pros is here: http://politico.pro/1G4p4Zz

HAPPY THURSDAY, SEPT. 24! Welcome to Morning Ag, where we are pretty sure that snack food has now hit full pumpkin-flavored saturation. Or at least we hope that’s the case: http://bit.ly/1NUitcd. You know the deal: Thoughts, news, tips? Send them to jhopkinson@politico.com and @jennyhops. Follow the whole team: @Morning_Ag.

HUMANE SOCIETY NETS SIGNATURES IN MASS. CAGE-FREE INITIATIVE: Animal agriculture groups may want to think faster about how to best fight a cage-free ballot initiative in Massachusetts. The Humane Society of the United States told MA it has already collected more than 10,000 signatures out of the 65,000 it needs to get by mid-November, and the group is feeling confident it’ll succeed.

Once 65,000 signatures are obtained, the state Legislature has the opportunity to enact the proposed initiative into law. If they choose not to, as expected, the animal welfare group will need to collect 10,000 more signatures. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin will then need to certify the signatures, which will then put the proposal before voters in November 2016. A refresher on the Massachusetts fight here: http://politico.pro/1LBRvzN

CALIFORNIA, OREGON EYED FOR GMO-LABELING BALLOT: Pro-GMO labeling groups are mulling where to push ballot initiatives in 2016, and California and Oregon are on top of the list. Dave Murphy, executive director of Food Democracy Now, told MA that groups are “in the process” of picking a state and wrangling donors. While both California and Oregon are promising, the final decision may come down to cost. Waging another GMO labeling fight in California will likely cost about $20 million, Murphy said, whereas Oregon is a much less expensive market.

A 2016 GMO-labeling ballot initiative in either state would be the second time residents consider the issue. A 2014 initiative in Oregon failed by just 837 votes in a recount following a $20.8 million campaign from the food and biotech industries. Supporters of the measure spent $8.2 million. A similar measure in California in 2012 failed by just 3 percent of the vote. $46 million was spent by the opposition, while proponents spent $9.2 million.

MEANWHILE IN VERMONT: By the time voters get to the ballot box in 2016, there may already be one state with GMO labeling in effect, that is if a court doesn’t block it first. Vermont’s law is scheduled to go into effect in July, but industry is waging a two-pronged legal challenge. A panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will on Oct. 8 hear arguments on the food industry’s request for an injunction on the law. The original suit in a federal court in Burlington, Vt., is still chugging along, though that won’t be ready for trial until late April, according to filings in the suit.

SENATORS PUSH FOR BIOTECH PLEDGE FROM XI: Forty two senators are urging President Barack Obama to seek a promise from visiting Chinese President Xi Jinpeng to speed up China’s biotech approval process. The senators, who signed onto a letter spearheaded by John Thune (R-S.D.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), said a planned Thursday meeting of top U.S. and Chinese leaders on the topic is a good start, but stressed much more is needed. The full letter can be seen here: http://1.usa.gov/1NUDGmd

WILL THE POPE TALK ABOUT AGRICULTURE?: After spending Tuesday talking with the president, meeting with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the USDA’s nutrition programs, riding around town in a Fiat and a Jeep Wrangler popemobile and conducting services, Pope Francis today heads to Capitol Hill, where he will address a joint session of Congress. While it’s unclear exactly what the pontiff will say to lawmakers, he already touched on the politically charged topics of climate change and immigration during remarks at the White House on Wednesday.

The pope has long been a proponent of embracing immigrants, and recently put out an encyclical that touted the need to protect the planet from climate change, pointing in particular to the need to maintain productive agriculture to feed the world’s residents. In the document, the pope touches on everything from the risks of GMO crops, concerns over deforestation from agriculture, maintaining fresh water supplies and potential problems with monoculture to ensuring global food security. Brush up on the pontiff’s positions here: http://bit.ly/1Gi1BTu. More from POLITICO on the visit: http://politi.co/1NMeYTl and here: http://politico.pro/1Pv7Jyf

ERNST RAILS AGAINST OSHA GUIDANCE: Sen. Joni Ernst today railed against new Labor Department guidance that would apply new safety regulations to the handling of anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer component that’s also flammable and corrosive to the skin, eyes and lungs. Ernst, speaking at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, said the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals and Application of the Retail Exemption, released in July would cost fertilizer retailers as much as $25,000 each to implement, but do nothing to improve safety: http://bit.ly/1L6X0My

FRESH FRUIT FIGHT AWAITS PILOT RESULTS: Amid the push to get canned, frozen and dried products served as a snack in low income classrooms, there’s also angst behind the scenes over a pilot program the USDA ran last year to test how a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program would work if those products were allowed. The “all forms” lobby, which includes the steel can, dried fruit and processed produce industries, succeeded in getting a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill that called for the pilot, but only four states ended up expressing interest, which some took as a sign that schools simply weren’t that interested. Groups backing the “all forms” push, however, think the USDA didn’t advertise the program enough — a contention that feeds into the strong feeling in some industry circles that the Obama administration is unfairly biased in favor of fresh.

“It was almost done in secret,” said Denise Bode, a lobbyist at Cornerstone Government Affairs, who works on behalf of the American Fruit and Vegetable Processors and Growers Coalition. Asked why, she responded: “I’m not going to assign motive.” Results from the pilot are expected to be released in 2016.

Meanwhile, many of the same groups are steering clear of the half-cup fight. Though there’s been much lobbying on the FFVP, most of the groups pushing to get into the snack program are not actively lobbying to keep the requirement that all school lunches include a half-cup of fruits and vegetables — a mandate that the School Nutrition Association is trying to relax. Brush up on the lobbying fight here: http://politi.co/1LvcOHB

SUSTAINABILITY GROUP LAUNCHES SITE AIMED AT INFLUENCING POLICYMAKERS: The Lexicon of Sustainability has launched the first of three websites that will explore over the next 10 years issues of sustainability through the lens of food, water and energy. The Lexicon of Food is the first of those three efforts to connect with people in influential positions, including policy makers, to discuss sustainability issues, said Laura Howard-Gayeton, a co-founder of the organization. The nonprofit group lists among its contributing members the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Food Safety, Civil Eats, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Union of Concerned Scientists, among others. Check out the Lexicon of Food here: http://bit.ly/1VaZTLS

GRAIN GROUP HIRES LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS DIRECTOR: The National Grain and Feed Association it is hiring Bobby Frederick as its new director of legislative affairs and public policy. Frederick is currently the legislative director for Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), a member of the House Agriculture Committee. He starts the job on Monday, replacing Jared Hill, who left this summer to go to Bunge North America as the senior director of government and industry affairs. See the full company release here: http://bit.ly/1V7QPwu

— A new report from the journal The BMJ is raising questions over the science behind the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines: http://bit.ly/1KCD7HR

— USDA official Katie Wilson dropped by schools in Kansas this week to promote Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act changes. Here’s the local press report, which notes one of the schools lacks a real kitchen: http://bit.ly/1LwUZrC

About The Author : Jenny Hopkinson

Before joining POLITICO, she spent three years at Inside Washington Publishers reporting on the EPA with a focus on chemicals policy, pesticides and water issues. Prior to that, Hopkinson was a reporter for The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times where she followed local governments as they tackled falling tax revenues and stagnating rural development, in addition to playing almost every mini-golf course in Ocean City, Md., in the name of a feature story.

Hopkinson earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C.